Sethu Parvathi Bayi, the progressive maharani of Travancore

Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was a force for reckon with. Born in 1896, she became junior Maharani at the age of five due to the matrilineal succession system followed by the Travancore Royal Family. At a time when talking about sex was a taboo, she supported American activist Margaret Sanger, founder of birth control movement on her visit to India.